Late night goes dark as Kimmel, Fallon, and Meyers head into spring break hiatus

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• 🔥 Quick Facts
• Late Night Hosts Enter Extended Spring Break Together
• Kimmel and Fallon Follow With Staggered Breaks
• Timeline of Late Night Spring Break Returns
• Meyers Stays Busy With Live Tour During Hiatus
• Is the Late Night Industry Facing Permanent Changes
  • Sources

Late night television enters a historic spring break as Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, and Jimmy Fallon simultaneously head into hiatuses. Three of America’s biggest talk show hosts go dark this week through mid-April, leaving viewers with reruns and a quiet broadcast landscape.

Late Night Hosts Enter Extended Spring Break Together

Late Night With Seth Meyers kicked off its extended vacation Monday, March 30, marking the start of a three-week production hiatus across NBC’s late-night lineup. The show, which normally airs new episodes every weeknight, will air reruns starting with the January 15 episode featuring Carrie Coon and Kenan Thompson.

This vacation wasn’t announced suddenly. The spring break tradition allows talk shows to recharge during slower viewing periods, especially in the weeks leading up to summer. Studio 8G at NBC will remain dark for the next three weeks as Meyers takes time away from the nightly grind.

Kimmel and Fallon Follow With Staggered Breaks

Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC also jumped into spring break mode this week, airing reruns through Friday, March 28 before returning with fresh episodes on Monday, April 6. The Los Angeles-based show’s shorter break maintains its usual schedule advantage over East Coast competitors.

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at NBC will take a slightly longer break, kicking off its two-week vacation on Monday, April 7 after Meyers’ initial week off expires. This staggered approach means late-night fans will see gaps in programming throughout early April across all three major networks.

Timeline of Late Night Spring Break Returns

Show	Network	Hiatus Ends
Late Night with Seth Meyers	NBC	April 20, 2026
Jimmy Kimmel Live!	ABC	April 6, 2026
The Tonight Show (Fallon)	NBC	April 21, 2026
The Late Show (Colbert)	CBS	Final (May 21)

“It feels real now. It did not feel real, but now there’s four months left. You can do comedy in a lot of different places. There’s no place like the Ed Sullivan Theater, but it’s really the people.”

— Stephen Colbert, On late night transition (January 2026)

Meyers Stays Busy With Live Tour During Hiatus

Seth Meyers won’t be sitting idle during his three-week break. The Late Night host is currently touring live across America, with scheduled stops in Missouri and New York during his show’s hiatus. He’s also maintaining his podcast empire, hosting Family Trips with the Meyers Brothers alongside his brother Josh.

Additionally, Meyers co-hosts The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast with Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone. This strategic use of downtime shows how modern talk show hosts leverage multiple revenue streams beyond their nightly broadcasts.

Is the Late Night Industry Facing Permanent Changes

The spring break tradition reflects broader shifts in late-night television. Stephen Colbert‘s departure signals a fundamental restructuring of network late-night strategy. CBS announced it will not replace the Late Show franchise after 33 years on air, signaling financial pressures in the space.

Meanwhile, national broadcasters ABC, NBC, and CBS continue to offer staggered hiatus schedules to manage production costs while keeping some programming fresh through the spring. As streaming services and cable alternatives fragment the audience, traditional late-night shows must balance profitability with audience loyalty during these extended breaks.

Sources

• TV Insider – Complete spring break schedule for Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Stephen Colbert (March 30, 2026)
• LateNighter – Late Night with Seth Meyers three-week hiatus details and return date April 20
• NBC Insider – Tonight Show and Late Night hiatus schedule updates